[Golden Lion 86]

Qad'Arra's shuttle cleared the Klingon atmosphere and set a course for the Federation, where she had allies and friends. She knew that she would be safe there, but there was still danger while she was in Klingon space. The House of Jar'Draq could send ships to find her and her son and kill them, so she had to move quickly.

The shuttle had been in flight for only twenty minutes when the worst thing imaginable happened: a Bird-of-Prey, bearing the house insignia of Jar'Draq, de-cloaked and opened fire on the shuttle. The first volley damaged one of the engines, and Qad'Arra rushed to repair it from within. While she did so, another volley hit the shuttle. This one overloaded some of the consoles and caused them to explode. Viq'Tarr was shocked and fell to the ground. Qad'Arra rushed to help him up, but another explosion sent debris flying her way. She was hit in the neck and fell onto Viq'Tarr's seat. She tried to get up, but found that she could not move. She had lost hope of escaping, but would not give up. Vocally, she ordered the shuttle to turn around and ram the Bird-of-Prey. Unfortunately, the shuttle was so damaged that the computer did not register the command and continued on its way.

Suddenly, a Romulan ship de-cloaked and opened fire of the Bird-of-Prey. The Romulan was a science vessel, and was better equipped to handle the Klingon ship. It disabled the Bird-of-Prey, and then, firing a torpedo into its engine, destroyed it. It then flew over to where the shuttle was, and locked a tractor beam onto it, pulling it to safety. Inside was a medical crew, ready to take in the casualties.

The commander of the vessel, Captain Movar Tei, was a benevolent Romulan, a rarity among his people, and he saw it as his duty to defend the weak. In this instance, he found that the shuttle, fleeing from the Bird-of-Prey, was in dire need of assistance, and he decided to help. With the commander were a few people of great significance. First, there was his fourteen year-old daughter, Eviess Tei. She was a relatively small girl, but she was very bright. She studied medicine, and even at her age, she could put many novice doctors to shame. She was with him when the shuttle was brought in, and she was ready to help the wounded who lay inside. Also with the Captain were Vedek Kina Amahr and his eight year-old daughter, Jocel. They were refugees from Bajor, and had left during the Cardassian occupation. The Captain rescued them and several dozen other Bajorans when their transport was attacked by Cardassians. Vedek Kina was also trained in medicine, and his young daughter wished to learn it. All in all, the party, Captain Tei included, was made up entirely of doctors.

They extracted the two bodies from under the debris: a woman and her young son. The woman was dying, and nothing could be done to save her. Her nerves and blood vessels were damaged, and not enough was known about Klingon physiology to treat her. The boy, on the other hand, was unscathed, except for a few small cuts and bruises from the debris. He was in a state of panic, however, and could not move without help. The woman was taken to the infirmery, as was the boy. After an hour of medical treatment, Qad'Arra died of her injuries. She was already too far gone to save, and the Romulans did not know how to treat her. Viq'Tarr was very young, but he understood what had happened that day. He vowed that by the time the sun set on his life, there would not be a member of House Jar'Draq alive anywhere in the Klingon Empire.